


To Be Great

by mautadite



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 13:46:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1081725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mautadite/pseuds/mautadite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amid a flurry of blatant whispers and stares, the young boy strode to the stool, sat upon it, and slipped the Sorting Hat over his head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Be Great

Amid a flurry of stares and blatant whispers, the young boy strode to the stool, sat upon it, and slipped the Sorting Hat over his head.

For a moment, there was silence, and the boy waited.

“Well, well,” said the croaking voice in his mind. “Here’s a tricky one, and that’s for sure.”

The boy said nothing. He only waited.

“Brilliant, yes, yes, here’s a mind that could make Ravenclaw proud. Not afraid of a bit of hard work either, you’ll fit right in with the Hufflepuff lot. Bravery aplenty, yes, no lack of that, and a thirst for glory and recognition; no small amount of ambition there. Cunning too. Tricky, yes, I love the tricky ones.”

The boy tucked a lock of red hair behind his ear, and the Hat reflected for a moment. It made as if to speak, but the boy interrupted then, in a quiet, piercing voice.

“I believe,” he said, “that you are obliged to take what I want into consideration?”

“You believe right, boy.” The Hat chuckled in a quite knowing way. “What is it that you want?”

There was a pause.

The boy thought of his mother, cold and tired, but still with some hope left in her. His father: broken with fruitless rage and never to be seen again. His wild and resentful brother, his gentle and volatile sister. He thought of the crowded Great Hall before him, ready to start its whispering anew once his back was turned. He thought hard.

“To help others,” he said, as sincere as any words that had ever been said, but in his mind, he thought, _and… to be great_.

“Ah, well, well,” said the Hat, chuckling again in a way that tickled the shell of the boy’s ear. “In that case, no doubt about it, it’s gotta be… GRYFFINDOR!” The last word was boomed aloud into the cavernous hall.

Albus Dumbledore took the Hat off of his head, deposited it on the stool, and strode forward into the roaring sea of red and gold.


End file.
